What Happens After Planning Commission Approval? A Step Most Developers Underestimate
ASK:
We received Planning Commission approval. Why does it still feel like the project could fall apart?
ANSWER:
Planning Commission approval feels decisive. Votes are cast. Motions pass. Conditions are read into the record. Teams breathe for the first time in months.
And then projects quietly lose momentum.
After two decades in development, I can say this clearly: a large percentage of project delays and cost overruns begin after Planning Commission approval, not before it. The reason is simple. Approval changes the nature of risk, and many teams fail to shift their strategy accordingly.
Before approval, the focus is conceptual alignment. After approval, the focus becomes execution, compliance, and coordination. Those are very different disciplines.
Once approval is granted, conditions of approval are finalized. These are not high-level suggestions. They are enforceable obligations that must be integrated into construction documents, consultant scopes, and schedules. Too often, conditions sit in meeting minutes while design teams continue working off pre-approval assumptions. That disconnect resurfaces later in plan check, when revisions are more expensive and time-consuming.
At the same time, technical departments re-engage with authority. Fire, building, public works, utilities, and environmental reviewers now evaluate the project through a compliance lens. Their role is no longer to comment on concept but to enforce standards. This shift frequently introduces new requirements that were not fully resolved during entitlement hearings.
Political visibility also increases. Once a project is approved, it becomes real to neighbors, council members, and internal city leadership. If communication slows or transparency drops, questions surface quickly. Silence after approval creates uncertainty, and uncertainty invites scrutiny.
At I&D Consulting, we treat Planning Commission approval as the moment when discipline matters most. Within days of approval, we translate conditions into assigned action items. We update schedules. We confirm consultant scope alignment. We re-engage departments proactively instead of waiting for plan check cycles to expose gaps.
Projects that move forward do not celebrate approval and pause. They accelerate with intention.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Planning Commission approval shifts risk, it does not remove it
• Conditions of approval must be operationalized immediately
• Technical departments apply stricter review standards after approval
• Post-approval momentum is critical to schedule integrity
People Also Ask
1) Are conditions of approval negotiable after Planning Commission approval?
Some clarifications may be possible, but most conditions are binding once adopted. Delaying response increases enforcement risk.
2) What usually causes delays after approval?
Unassigned conditions, consultant misalignment, and delayed re-engagement with city departments.
3) How quickly should teams act after approval?
Immediately. The first 30 days after approval often determine whether execution stays clean or unravels.
